Meet Anthony medina | Owner/operator at Medina’s Interior Design

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony medina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking is a huge personal challenge for me. I am the type of person that doesn’t like/want to ever live with regret and I dont like waiting for someone to do something for me that I’m fully capable of doing for myself. I spent a lot of my younger adult life letting opportunities pass me by due to fear of failure and not taking risks. These days I choose to go at things head first and if I do fail I pick myself back up and figure out another route to take until I get to the goal I’m trying to achieve. Most of all I have learned to not let other people project their fears onto me, which in turn would make me not take the risk. I would rather try and fail than not try at all. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the things that I believe sets me apart from others in my field is that I’m my worst critic and if I’m not happy with my work I will redo it until I feel like it’s ready for the world to see. I take pride in what I put my name on and I stand on that whole heartedly. Another thing I would have to say I’m proud of is myself, specifically, because there was a period of time in my life when I had no idea what I was doing, what my purpose was and I gave up on any type of goals or achievements more then a few times; but I always seemed to find peace and happiness when working on cars. The fact that I could take an ugly beat up interior and turn it into something that makes someone else happy and that I could also take pride in it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I have gotten as far as I have in life and with my career by again not giving up and by taking risks even when other people told me I would never be successful or I couldn’t achieve my dream to one day own a custom upholstery shop. I kept pushing. My 2 older brothers are to blame for getting me hooked on cars at a very young age.  I love and appreciate them for that because even though I went off the path at times they have always encouraged me to get back at it and not to waste my talent. Also my mom has been a huge supporter of this journey so she gets that same love and appreciation. To say the least, this journey has not been an easy one; after two failed shops in my hometown of Seattle Washington, I moved to Arizona in late 2019 worked for 2 different shops here and then, in 2020, I decided to go for it one more time, making a promise to myself that I would give it my all. I believe all will work out if I trust the process. There are tons of things I have learned along the way but one that I really stick by is transparency and to do honest business. You can’t make everyone happy but if you give it your best at least you can hold your head up and know that you tried and didn’t fold. In my opinion, upholsters get treated the worst in the automotive industry. We are most times the last thing on the list to get done and a lot of times the build money is pretty short by the time we get the vehicle so we are lowballed a lot but you have to know your worth and stand your ground. Additionally, one thing I would tell the world about myself is that I’m a person that doesn’t like to see other people suffer or doing bad and I love to help and share my knowledge with anyone willing to take a sincere interest in what I have to say or show them. I have been given the opportunity in the last year to teach small groups of 20-30 people some basics on upholstery as well as little tips and tricks of the custom world. It brings me a lot of joy to teach others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well most of my friends are also into cars so I think we would hit up some car shows, maybe go around to a few of the other shops that I do business with that build some amazing cars and definitely go watch top fuel drag cars – that’s my first love. I’m still learning and trying new places here in Arizona myself so I guess for night life we would just have to wing it and see what’s out there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would have to give a big shoutout to Bryan Schmitt from Mobile Solutions located in Tempe Az. I have gained a ton of knowledge and experience from him, whether it be from his training classes or working late nights with him on a project or training aid. He is also a mentor for me. I’m not sure if he is aware of that lol but the knowledge that he holds is very valuable and I think he deserves a huge shoutout for changing, not just my life, but many others as well.

Instagram: Medinas interior design